My GF dreams come true: Delicious Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious gluten free cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting

I don't know what it is, I've never eaten many cinnamon rolls in my life, let alone store bought ones, but I crave cinnamon rolls like it's my job.  It's a good thing cinnamon is a legal substance because you wouldn't think so the way I want to eat it in everything.  Lately, I want cinnamon rolls all the time, maybe it's this insanely cold and snowy winter, who knows, but there is no way for me to get enough of that hot cinnamon-ey sticky sweet deliciousness.  If I could make them everyday and eat the whole pan without gaining a million pounds, I would try.


After having a chat with my friend Sheri about flours and gluten free alternatives I was inspired to make some cinnamon rolls and play with the proportions of flours.  We discussed the use of cornstarch as a flour component in recipes, I don't know if I can afford to do that since I only pay about $1/lb for my flours at China-mart grocery store that we frequent.  Instead I realized I should stop using the larger grinds of rice flours and sub in potato starch which is a super light powdery flour.  Not to be confused with potato flour which is very heavy, grainy, and smells like potatoes.  I first tried out my theory a few weeks ago making a very lovely batch of cinnamon rolls, my only down fall was that I followed the recipe for glutinous rolls and split the dough so it made these itty bitty rolls that were tasty but not what I had in my mind's eye.  After my flour ratios sat on the white board on the fridge for weeks and Tim getting crabby about me never writing it down on paper, I wrote it out finally.


Then my parents came to visit and I usually use my dad's presence as an excuse to bake all sorts of GF treats, my partner in crime really.  My mom has commented several times over lately how similar my dad's and my palates seem to be, that we like the same foods and have similar cravings.  Of course they were excited to have fresh home made gluten free cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing, trust me no one could turn these things down if they saw them.  They are big, fluffy, soft, chewy, tender, sweet, and just perfect!  Both my mom and Tim said they are better than glutinous cinnamon rolls that you could find at the mall food court.  The rolls were perfect in my opinion, they pulled apart, and the rolls were not overly sweet, a perfect compliment to the sugar cinnamon filling and the super sweet icing.


Making cinnamon rolls is never a simple process, but I'm learning to embrace the time to create deliciousness.  They are well worth the wait of the two proofings and the baking proceesses.  I hope you will try them sometime.  I made them at night and we heated them for breakfast in the morning the next day and they were sooo good!  If you are ambitious I suppose you could wake up super early and make them from scratch to have for breakfast too.  You could also start making them the night before and work up to the point just before the second proofing and put them in the fridge until morning and proof and bake them for breakfast.


AMAZING Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls


Dry Ingredients:
2   Cups Tapioca Starch
1   Cup Sweet Rice Flour
3/4 Cup Potato Starch
1/4 Cup Soy Flour
1   Tbs Xanthan Gum


2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast


Wet Ingredients:
1   Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
2   Eggs


Filling:
3   Tbs Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
2  tsp Cinnamon


1/2  Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting


Directions:


Blend flours and Xanthan gum in a mixing bowl, then remove 2 cups of blended flours  and place into bowl of a stand mixer with yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, the 1/3 cup sugar, the 1/3 cup butter, and salt just until warm (120 to 130 degrees F.) and butter almost melts.  Or combine milk, sugar, and butter in a microwave safe bowl, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals just until butter melts, stirring mixture between microwaving.  


Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can, starting the mixer on a slow speed at first so as not to disperse flour into the air.


Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).


Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease a 9x9x1-1/2-inch round baking pans.

Rolls rolled up and sliced

Roll the dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush the 3 Tablespoons melted butter over dough. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Roll up into a spiral, starting from a long side. Seal seam. Slice roll into 10-12 equal pieces. Place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 30 minutes).

Bake in 375 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; remove from pans. Drizzle with Powdered Sugar Icing. If desired, serve warm. Makes 10-12 rolls.

To have warm cinnamon rolls in the morning; prepare and shape rolls. Cover with oiled waxed paper, then plastic wrap. Chill 2 to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Prick any air bubbles with a wooden pick. Bake as directed.

Finished Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Udi's Gluten Free Bagels

I am the proud owner of a happy tummy right now.  I just finished a Udi's Plain Gluten Free Bagel!  The are really good, nice an light, and perfectly chewy, I don't feel like I just ate a million slices of bread.  They even got nicely toasted in the toaster, other than the one I charred the other day, they are more delicate than some other brands of bagels on the market that need a blow torch to even get close to toasted.  They are also huge, something that isn't common of gf bagels, without a truckload of calories, 270 for the plain (on the bag, but the website claims they are 310 cal. each not sure why the discrepancy), and 280 for the cinnamon raisin bagels.  They are fantastic toasted with some cream cheese, or neufchatel cheese, and a cup of coffee on the side.

I took mine right from the freezer, and microwaved it for 30 seconds to start the thawing process.  After the microwave I slid a knife through the bagel to detach the two halves from one another and popped it into the toaster.  I did have to turn the toaster dial down to 2 out of 5, because they burn quickly.  Once they came out of the toaster, a quick smear of cream cheese and they ended up "in my mouth...AHHH" as Ceci says.  A good many more Udi's bagels will be ending up in my mouth because they are DELICIOUS!!!

Mario's Pizzeria, where have you been all my GF life?

Mario's Pizzeria's Gluten Free Chicken Parm dinner

A few weeks ago we were informed that the pizzeria we pass on a weekly basis was not only offering GF pizzas, but entrees, and pasta dishes as well.  We have gone a few times now and I'm in love after our last visit!  Mario's Pizzeria here in Melville NY, has so much to offer and makes my GF life even more delicious.  We have eaten food from them I think 3 times now, every time it's so yummy and Ceci can't get enough.  So far we have had their GF pizzetta with cheese, with pepperoni, and most recently the GF Buffalo Chicken Pizza.  The first time we went I ate the GF Chicken Parmigana that comes with GF pasta and a GF roll.

The rolls are heavenly by the way, soft and fluffy inside with a nice crust on the outside and with a little bit of butter, they are AMAZING!  I had to have Tim take a bite the first time to see if he thought they were glutinous, they tasted so good I couldn't believe they really were gluten free.  The chicken is tender with a nice crunch from the bread crumb crust and the marinara sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy and makes my tummy so happy.

Yesterday we decided to stop by Mario's on the way to dropping my parents at the airport, I called in our order to dine in knowing it would take a while to get the GF pizzas ready.  I was so happily surprised by the fantastic customer service we received, Pete who answered the phone, asked how many in our party and if we needed a high chair for Ceci.  And when we ran late due to a street closure Pete even called to make sure we were still on our way because he was worried about our food getting cold.  When we got there our food was ready and waiting and a table was set for us.  PERFECT!  Did I mention this was on Superbowl Sunday, at lunch time, but still who is this nice any more?  So nice to get this attention.

If you have the chance you should make your way to Melville NY and try Mario's Pizzeria!  You will be so happy you did, and your stomach will thank you too!

Gluten Free Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

Now that I've been blogging a few months, and following other blogs, I have started to feel the peer pressure of getting away from processed sugar.  It can only be a good thing to have less sugar in our diets while increasing the fiber and fruit and vegetable intake.  I'm still really unsure of how to accomplish this, but reading some other investigating blogger's works it's getting easier.  As always I'm constantly looking for ways to get more veggies into Ceci, when I stumbled across a recipe in the back of a random parent magazine I found at the library on the free shelf.  It had an article on feeding picky eaters, from infants just starting on solids, to small children.  The recipe recommended for toddlers was "Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins" I was so excited to find a recipe that suited all my needs and I didn't have to mastermind flour substitutions for once.

I made these on a snow day last week so I had to use what ever I had in the house because I couldn't go out and buy the extra ingredients.  We didn't have zucchini so I just used all carrots instead, and I didn't have pure maple syrup, or coconut oil and substituted accordingly.  It also called for "quick cooking oats" which I haven't found in the stores here yet, so I subbed Rolled Oats and let them sit in the wet ingredients for a bit to soften.  The first one I tasted, I thought, "what have I done, why am I trying to go without sugar?  This is silly, I love sugar, why!?!"  Now after having a few more of them they are growing on me and I find they taste pretty good.  I should mention they present more like a power bar than a muffin, they are very dense and did not rise very much.  Still they are hearty and filling for a quick snack, and with the addition of some cinnamon very tasty.  It is really nice to know that when I eat them I haven't consumed a ton of sugar hidden behind all the carrots, raisins, and oats.

Gluten Free Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

1   very ripe Banana, mashed
1   Cup unsweetened Applesauce
1/4  Cup Vegetable oil
1   Egg, slightly beaten
1/4  Cup Honey  (should sub pure maple syrup for children under 2)
2   tsp Vanilla
3   Cups grated Carrots

2   Cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats

1   Cup Rice Flour
2   tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).  Fill muffin tins with liners.
In a large mixing bowl combine banana applesauce and oil.  Blend in egg, honey, and vanilla.  Stir in carrots, and oats (this will help soften oats for cooking process).
In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt.  Stir into wet ingredients until combined.  Fold in raisins and let batter sit for 5 minutes.
Fill liners with batter, Bake for 25-30 min.  Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.

We are so Fortunate to have wonderful friends, and Gluten Free Cupcakes

Gluten Free Cupcake tower from Bobby's 1st birthday

Our family is so fortunate to have some very amazing friends who want to take care of Ceci and I and make us feel so special and loved.  We have had the good fortune of celebrating birthdays of our friends children lately and I was fully prepared to provide food and cake items for Ceci and I to eat at the parties.  I have been shut down on all accounts by some wonderful women who want to take care of us, it's been so nice to go to parties and not have to bring our own food.

At the beginning of the year we attended Joseph's birthday where his Mom, Bonnie went out of her way to find a bakery with gluten free cake and bought a few slices for Ceci and I to have at the party.  It was delicious it had layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mouse, and was coated with a rich chocolate gouache.  So good, but I think it was a bit rich for Ceci, no problem, more for me!  I think she was more excited about getting a cup of lemonade with her lunch anyway.  It was really nice to have a special piece of cake that I didn't have to bring to the party.

Last week we were invited to another birthday party for Bobby, and were told not to bring any food at all for ourselves.  I was unable to go to the party but Tim was happy to take Ceci and go celebrate the occasion.  Tim told me that Bobby's Mom, Jaime, made a huge pan of gluten free baked ziti, one of Ceci's favorite foods.  Ceci proceeded to consume two large portions all by herself, and probably would have tried to eat the entire pan if Tim hadn't kept an eye on her.  Jaime also made a beautiful cupcake tower of all gluten free cupcakes!  She used Cherrybrook Kitchen's Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix for the cupcakes, which are also peanut free, a very happy thing for us.  The cake was nice, not to sweet which is perfect for a cake.  Jaime isn't quite sure of the brand of frosting she used, but that isn't the most important part.  The most important part is that Ceci LOVED them and has been talking about the beautiful cupcakes ever since and how much she liked eating the sprinkles.

We are so lucky to have friends who want to take care of us, work hard to build their awareness of gluten free food, and provide us with safe yummy things to eat.  I remember my mom bringing things to school and parties for me to eat because there was no other way.  We live in a very happy time, and are beyond fortunate to have the friends we do.  I can only hope that other people out there with celiac/gluten intolerance are so lucky, it's a wonderful feeling!

Gluten Free Bisquick Pancakes

Mickey Mouse Head Pancakes

We have been consuming a large amount of Gluten Free Bisquick around here lately, biscuits, dumplings, cakes, and pancakes.  One night we decided to have breakfast for dinner, including pancakes, which is very rare in this house.  My husband would be more than happy to sit down to a huge steak with potatoes on the side every night, I can't eat like that, and neither can Ceci.  We got creative one night and decided to make pancakes, and it couldn't have been easier with Gluten Free Bisquick.  Since Ceci hasn't really had pancakes before, we eat a lot of gluten free waffles, I decided to make the pancakes into a fun shape she would like to eat.  It worked really well, along with some home made blueberry jam she ate 3 that night.  I would have eaten a whole batch myself if I didn't have to share, they are light and fluffy, sweet and simple.

I think she was pretty excited to get a Mickey Mouse Pancake!

I kept it simple and followed the recipe on the box, which is unreasonably easy and quick.  I tried to find it online and link it here, but for some reason it was pretty difficult to find the plain pancake recipe, even on the Betty Crocker website.  So here it is from the box

Gluten Free Bisquick Pancakes

1   Cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix
1   Cup Milk
2   Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1   Egg

STIR  ingredients until blended.
POUR slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls onto hot greased griddle
COOK until edges are dry.  Turn; cook until golden.

makes 10 pancakes

I think we will be eating more breakfast for dinner around this house in the coming months.  I'll have to work on my pancake shapes though, Ceci might get tired of mickey heads pretty quick, maybe hearts aren't too difficult.

Gluten Free Bierocks

Gluten Free Bierocks (German meat pies)

Before I met my husband, in his bachelor days he used to throw huge New Year's Eve Parties, he tells stories of people getting locked out of the house over night in the snow, someone sleeping on the stereo cabinet, countless tales of horrifying hook ups (won't detail those here, we do need to discuss food later and I don't want people losing their appetite.)  Suffice to say it was a huge sloppy mess of a party for a few years in there.  Then he met me, and had to change his life because I do not enjoy cleaning up other people's messes (besides my child's), you want to party like that get a hotel room and tip the maid!  Over the last few years the parties have toned themselves down anyway without me laying down the law.  Last year was our first year having kids at the party and in October I started worrying about keeping several toddlers up till midnight, I started brainstorming.  I realized that New Year's Eve is celebrated around the globe, why are we locked into celebrating it at 12:00am EST.  So last year we started a new tradition of celebrating the midnight of a different country so that we can still toast, spend time with our friends, and get the kiddos in bed at a decent hour.

Last year we celebrated Italian New Year's Eve, with (admittedly Americanized) Italian food, and a toast at 6:00pm EST.  We had a great time and all our friends told us they loved it for all the reasons we did, particularly getting kids to bed on time.  So we realized we had a hit on our hands, and we are fortunate that a good portion of Europe is in the same time zone so we can pick a new country every year and have a new theme.

This year we decided on a German theme, and for a while couldn't figure out what to serve beyond beer, brauts, and sauerkraut.  Then I started remembering a dish that my dad used to talk about from his childhood.  I recall him talking a lot about eating Bierocks that his "Little Grandma" used to make for his family when he was a kid.  Now that Dad eats gluten free, and Little Grandma is long gone he hasn't had a Bierock in years.  I thought it would be a great idea if I could test run a Bierocks recipe while we were out visiting my parents over Thanksgiving, in preparation for this year's New Year's festivities.  Plus Dad would be able to tell me how close the Bierocks were to the real thing, and if I needed to research a new recipe.

We scoured several cookbooks, and even asked around to find out if Little Grandma's recipe was ever written down anywhere.  No luck on Little Grandma's version, but we did find a suitable stand in.  Fortunately my parents keep a huge barrel of Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour, so it was less work for me to convert over the recipe.  It's certainly not a simple recipe, in fact I would suggest that you plan on starting to make these about three days before you want to eat them.  It is not only a long process because it's a yeast dough, but it is incredibly labor intensive, I needed a nap halfway through making them, but it was worth it.

Two days before New Year's Eve I was here at home making a full batch of Bierocks, and opted to mix my own flours.  What a disaster!  It was as if changing out the flours made a totally different product, the original recipe called for 10-11 cups of wheat flour.  I think I used at least that if not more of different gf flours, my whole kitchen was covered in a fine layer of tapioca starch that took two days to clean.  And the final product of Bierocks looked like they were made out of dried play dough.  They tasted really good, but I was not at all happy with the dough portion.  As a result I will provide my first recipe which was a huge hit, Dad loved them and said I got it right, I was so excited!

Cute little dough purse full of yummy meat and cabbage.

Gluten Free Bierocks

2   Cups Bob's Red Mill GF AP Baking Flour
1   Tbs Xanthan Gum
1 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1/4  Cup Sugar
1   tsp Salt

1 1/4  Cup Water
1/2     Cup Milk
1/4     Cup Butter

1   Egg

1 lb   Ground Beef
1  medium Onion (chopped)
1  tsp Salt
1/2  tsp White Pepper
1 lb bag Coleslaw Mix (without dressing)

Dough

• Mix Dry ingredients and set aside
• In a sauce pan, heat water, milk and butter just until butter melts.  Remove from heat and let cool to 120-130 degrees (F).  Combine with flour mix and add egg
• Using Kitchenaid (or other heavy duty mixer) blend on low speed until moistened, then beat on medium for 3 minutes.
• By hand gradually stir in enough extra flour to make a firm dough.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 min.
• Place in a greased bowl, turn once to grease top.  Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm place till doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down and let rise again until almost doubled, re-wet tea towel and cover again.

Filling

• Start making filling while dough is rising so you will be ready to assemble when after dough is rolled out.
• Brown Beef and onion in a large pan, add salt and pepper
• Pour in bag of cabbage, and cover pot until cabbage softens and wilts

Assembly

• Spoon 1/3 - 1/4 Cup of filling onto each dough square
• Bring the four corners up over filling and pinch together and seal
• Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 30 min

One batch all ready for the oven.  My folding and sealing process needs a little practice